steviej

your 2 cents is very valuable. Thanks for offering it up. I think you have tipped the scales for me to go that route cause now I'm being told the Contis are going to be further delayed. this is what I love about this forum. steviej

I caught an episode of High Rev Tuners the other night and they nitroused a Mazda 6. Looked mildly difficult but they say the instructions are so well written from this particular brand. I could help but think of my ES and go hummmmm...:whistles: steviej

Summer tires are as in sig. Toyo Proxes FZ4s. not bad, a little louder that stock but that was expected. If I had to do them over again, I would pay the extra and do what skperfomance told me to do in the first place...go with the Toyo Proxes T1-S's. I have very little left of the Bridgie RE92 on there right now. My name is on a set of ContiExtremeContact (V-rated) but they are not due in until next week. I am also hearing good things about Toyo Proxes TPT all seasons. I might look into them. I may give the Dunlop Sport A2 a second look. I don't have any experience with Pirelli's, but have heard good things about them. do your homework. Go to tirerack.com and tires.com and read reviews. Go to the library and look up back issues of consumer reports. steviej

wet surface like in rain soaked road or just damp? If there was water on the road, could be that it splashed on one of the two belts and the belt then slipped on the pulley causeing a loud screaching noise. Similar to that of a loose belt on start up. steviej

do a search on "engine oil sludge" here and on google. There is a thread (I forget where) that shows some incredible pictures of oil sludge. I believe it was on an RX, but the engine is the same. Basically it looks like really thick molasses caked into every nook, cranny can cavity. steviej

can this DVD be copied? If I am following you guys right, the DVD must be present in the player so the NAV can access it, right? It is not downloaded to memory and then accessed there, right? If it is just a DVD it should be copyable. Why don't one of you buy it, then copy it and split the cost between the two of you. Should work unless this is an item that is programmed vehicle specific by VIN upon ordering the part (like a key). steviej

here you go, $65.95 USD. http://www.irontoad.com/Merchant2/merchant..._Code=2001es300 granny aint got whitewalls, but she does have wirebasket wheel covers. look at some spoilers here too, http://www.spoilerdepot.com steviej

try: http://www.newlexusparts.com or http://www.car-parts.com steviej

I posted an answer for you on CL but they crashed before the reply posted. a friend of mine and member here and on CL (lexusk8) is currently riding on them. I believe he likes them very much. pm him to get specifics if he doesn't repsond to your post. I am in the same dilemna, except I am looking for 215/60-16 in a V rating, hell I will even go to an H rating. I have found very little selection in the way of reputable tires that meet my needs for an AS tire. My tire said the say thing about the Michies, so they are out (especially for the money they cost). I am looking at Dunlop Sport A2's but most reviews that I have read say the tread suffers from early depletion. I cannot comment on driver style except for the fact that most selected fast and aggresive as their driving style. My tire guy did say that he had heard alot of BMW owners were burning right through these. I currently have my name on a set of ContiExtremeContacts but they haven't arrived yet. They were supposed to be in yesturday. Too bad, cause Boston is supposed to get whacked with a snow storm Monday night into Tuesday. oh well. I will let you know, as I make a decision in the next two weeks. I am getting very nervous when it rains or lightly snows. steviej ps. I am moving this thread to the tire section cause it is more of a tire question than an ES question.

yes, lexus does make a sunroof wind deflector and yes it will make your ES look even more like my grandmothers Camry. it all depends on the spoiler that is placed on the car as to the appearence that is cast. and, yes again, it all comes down to individual taste. The one that amf1932 and myself have I feel is very very appealing, however, the camry style spoiler I feel has a couple of edges and angles that are too sharp for the rounded edges of my 02 ES. steviej

nawh, you pretty guys pretty much nailed it on the head. The secret is in the mix-ins that go in each brand's tanker truck. That information I am sure if proprietarty information. I pretty much use Exxon/Mobil cause of the cool SpeedPass thingie. We got a Chevron station not too far away, so I will hit that every once in a while. steviej

let's do it. I'll make the drive from Boston, definately. steviej

Steve, you meant to say CL, right???!!! steviej

If you listed and email address under My Controls then the little word "email" shows up in the bottom left of all your posts. it is there on your posts. Any logged-in member can click on this and will be sent to a section where an email can be typed and automatically sent directly to you. steviej

I was starting to think this cause when I started to look up other Toyota and Lexus vehicles, they all have this TSB. Must be one of those "across the board engineering design flaws". Ouch. steviej

in the thread you want to quote, go to the panel of the post of the person you wish to quote. click on the word "Quote" in the upper right corner of their panel. You will be taken to a NEWREPLY box that has a window displaying their entire post. You then delete the stuff that you don't want to quote and keep only the parts of their post that you want to keep. Then move to the reply box and type in your text. The quote statement will automatically be applied to your post when you submit your post. follow me? steviej.

I have heard rumors to the effect that Toyota/Lexus has come out with an "ultra-long life coolant" that is supposed to last 100,000 miles. I heard this from a moderator on CL who I think was/is a Lexus Technician. I can post a link to the thread if you wish, or you can search on long life coolant there. I wonder if the pink stuff is this new longer lasting formulation. I have to wonder if Toyota/Lexus doesn't trust their 60k mile "Long Life Coolant", then why are they shooting for a longer life coolant. Time will only tell on this one. Lastly I must wonder if the pink is compatible with the red which we know is NOT compatible with the green and.............nevermind, you get the point. steviej

if you are gonna do it, do it right, this way the colors match on all your bulbs. The highs and lows will run you about $20-25 per bulb, depending on where you get them. I do not know what the H3 fog bulb in the Silverstar goes for. My guess would be about $15-20 each. do post a picture if you do it all up. steviej

Welcome to the LOC Lexusfreak. I caught your post on CL, too. 1. the gasket you refer is the little one on the drain bolt/plug in the oil pan. The gasket that was on my plug (put there by the dealer was rubber). Sometimes I forget to put one on or just reuse the one that is on there and have never had a problem. They cost pennies at the dealer. 2. The spark plugs are irridium and made by Denso. These get changed at 60k miles unless you got problems. Front three are easy, back three are a b@#ch but doable if you have the right flex attachments for your socket wrench. Gap is 0.043 in. Forgive me, I am in the states and I speak miles and inches not kilometers and mm. 3. K&N cone filters or CAIs will increase the noise. However, the K&N drop in filters didn't change the noise on any of my cars cause they still go in the airbox. (K&N vs stock paper/fiber filter has been a heated topic of discussion on this forum, too) 4. Coolant: You must use an ethylene glycol based coolant. They come in two flavors: traditional green and long life red. If you got the red in there now, stay with it and just use the Toyota brand. Flush and replace the coolant every 30k or at least every 2 years. I know Toyota/Lexus states the long life coolant is good for 5 years or 60k but I have been told by Lexus that they are not trusting it for this length of service or time. Be safe and change it out at 30k. You must NOT use an alcohol type antifreeze or water alone. This is on the back page of you manual. If you don't have a manual, get one. Register your car on www.lexus.com and you can request one free. 5. Like SW03ES said, go with the Toyo T-IV tranny fluid. Don't go synthetic on this one. But I'm with you on the Mobil 1 5W-30 and the Mobil 1 filter. again, welcome to the club, sit back and enjoy the ride. Don't be afraid to ask anything. steviej

no, bleeding procedure is same for both. Just be real careful of the ABS sensors and wires that are connected to the brakes. Sometimes they can get in the way and accidentally get damaged. sj

they are 100% street legal in all 50 states. They are simply a replacement bulb made by Sylvania. They offer a color about about 4000k, are affordable, available in Wal-MArt and most every auto-part store, and come in a multitude of buld configurations. Good stuff!! steviej

because of the placement of the oil filter on the 1MZ-FE engine, oil always spills. The oil filter is mounted on the front side of the engine, just under the exhaust manifold. It is also mounted at a down angle. When removing the filter, there is no way oil is not going to spill out. To make matters worse, it spills down onto a crossmember and the plastic splash guard/air deflector. This will cause the oil to run and drip from multiple places. Watch each day for new drips (parking on a clean piece of tar each time is key). Chances are, the drips will cease in a day or two depending on how much oil was spilled. You can also get an idea or where the oil is dripping from based on where the drips are on the ground. steviej

alldata.com lists this TSB. EG001-03 FEB 03 Exhaust System - Sulfur Smell I suggest you ask your dealship the specifics related to this TSB. If alldata knows about it, Lexus definately knows about it. steviej

how much money you got? It would be cheaper to buy a car with traction control factory installed. steviej

TSBs are usually generated from the manufacturer. Take the TSB number to you Lexus dealer (go to the web alldata.com and print the entire list if you wish) and inquire as to what is invovled in this TSB. Unfortuneately, getting the info from alldata requires an annual subscription. steviej 2003 was the first year of the GX. Bugs and quirks are always worked out in the first year of use. Be patient but be persistant with Toyo/Lexus. Also do a search of TSBs for the 2003 4Runner as it is a similar platform vehicle. You may find some similarities in problems. oops, forgot your link. http://www.alldata.com/TSB/74/03740614.html